The European bureaucratic machine proves unable to protect retail clients.

It’s been more than three years since the first signs of trouble emerged for clients of one particular retail brokerage in Cyprus – IronFX. The company’s clients have been all over the news and social media in China, Europe and Latin America, demanding justice and a repayment of their withdrawals. In the meantime the Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus has released its annual report, showing a massive client money hole. The company disputed the findings.

The case escalated into an investigation by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) that settled with IronFX and allowed the firm to continue operating. In the meantime clients from China and Europe have had to resort to legal proceedings to demand repayment of their funds.

After the settlement, CySEC advised clients to direct their complaints to the Cyprus Financial Ombudsman Service, an institution which is yet to conclude its investigation of the brokerage.

As of today, a number of clients continue to contact Finance Magnates with their hopes dashed by European bureaucracy. The wealthier customers have resorted to pursuing legal cases against the brokerage using qualified lawyers from Cyprus to assist them in the recovery of funds.

Some online entities claim that they have successfully recovered money for clients, but there is no definitive way to prove whether these claims are legitimate. Others have resulted in failure and admissions of using multiple accounts to abuse the firm’s once generous bonus system.

Commenting to Finance Magnates on the matter, an IronFX spokesperson stated: “There is only one pending Court case in the Limassol District Court for a claim of approximately $600,000 by a single group of 165 Chinese Clients who have yet to present themselves at Court. 72 of these have already dropped the case and we strongly believe the remaining lack merit.”

“The Company has a further 7 lawyer claims for purported pending withdrawals, none of which has gone to a Court trial yet. These claims represent a tiny fraction of the 1.1m accounts the Company has opened since its inception. The Company has a number of independent legal and expert opinions that strongly support its position and the validity of its T&Cs and therefore strongly believe that none of these fictitious claims will proceed to trial. No clients have managed to win compensation for their purported withdrawals by virtue of a successful Court order or winning any Court case,” the company’s spokesperson concluded.

European Commission and Ombudsman Dragged into IronFX Case

The inconclusiveness of actions undertaken, and the lack of action on the part of CySEC and the Cyprus Financial Ombudsman Service, has resulted in a case brought to the European Ombudsman by a Hungarian client of IronFX regarding repayment of his funds. Additional complaints have been brought to the European Commission.

To the detriment of clients that have been looking to obtain assistance from European Authorities, all cases have been deemed appropriately addressed and the relevant institutions have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

ESMA states that it has adequately addressed the case, highlighting its recent actions targeting retail brokerages across the European Union. The supranational regulator has mandated tougher rules on leverage and prohibited bonus practices by all companies in the industry.

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As a result of the actions of few brokers, all brokers have been labelled as aggressively targeting clients. Industry insiders know that this is not the case, but the chief European bureaucrats don’t seem to be paying a lot of attention to this.

ESMA took 5 months to reply to the Hungarian client’s complaint, and no action was taken to alleviate the client’s concerns. This has been criticized by the Ombudsman service.

The case also highlights that CySEC announced a settlement worth €335,000 against the company. The disputes between IronFX and its clients are still ongoing however.

High Leverage Advertising

Before the publication of this article, a CySEC spokesperson was contacted by Finance Magnates. We asked why IronFX was still allowed to openly advertise on its website that it is offering up to 1:500 leverage.

A screenshot from the website of IronFX showing 1:500 leverage, before CySEC was contacted by FM.

No official comment has been received on the matter, however at present the website of the broker has coincidentally substituted the highlighted high leverage position. IronFX is now instead highlighting its dedication to 24/5 customer support.

The website of IronFX is no longer advertising 1:500 leverage

This is the same customer support system which has been contacted over years by customers whose complaints have not been addressed. Finance Magnates has spoken to numerous customers of IronFX that assert that all of their withdrawal requests have been directed to compliance@ironfx.com. After emails were sent to the address, no appropriate reply was received by several clients.

European Bureaucracy is Not Helping End Clients

The main issue with the legal cases brought to European institutions against the brokerage continues to be that the institutions, whether Cypriot or EU (CySEC/the Cyprus Financial Ombudsman Service/ESMA/the European Ombudsman), have provided zero assistance to the clients.

Instead, ESMA has mandated that national regulators introduce additional measures for client protection. And yet the main question for the industry remains – what will Cypriot authorities do to actually enforce the existing regulations?

Numerous clients of the EU-regulated broker are at present unable to access their funds. In the meantime, CySEC issued a communique last year mandating that all withdrawals be completed within the same working day or on the working day following receipt of the request.

After more than two years, the situation has still not been resolved, and the firm constructed a presentation for an IPO that never materialized.

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Safvan Malik

I have never understood the deal with IronFX. From the top, they seem to be no different than nearly all the MetaQuotes-based brokers out there, but somehow they seem to have gummed-up the most negative PR. I think – this is just me – it’s due the bank run effect; the negative publicity suddenly pushed all the depositors to ask for withdrawals, which the ownership wasn’t ready to deliver – money already spent on affiliates, office expansions, lifestyle investments etc. Had that China episode not happened, they would have managed alright; what triggered that situation is anybody’s guess – lack… Read more »

It’s a ponzi scheme with the backing of an EU regulator. In faking plain sight. Most news outlets, particularly FM have been slow or reluctant to publish anything ‘hardcore’ about IronFx or other brokers until well after the fact; sponsor money is still good no matter where it comes from.

It’s disgusting really and helps to expose the darker side of the retail industry.

Put it this way, who is still depositing their funds with IronFx? Here, let me instead give you my paypal address. It will be better spent, I assure you 😀

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1 year ago

Member

IronFX Official Representative

Dear Jon Grah,
You are kindly requested to provide us with your particulars (i.e.name and account number) in order to allow us to attend to any queries you may have. You can also write to us at support@ironfx.com for any clarifications you may require.
Thank you

lol. Not so funny for those people who cannot get their balances returned.

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1 year ago

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UK depositor

As an investor with a withdrawal request submitted in May 2017 which has not been processed, I can categorically advise that all e-mails I have sent to support@ironfx.com have been ignored. Posts by IronFX Official Representatives suggesting that e-mails sent to the organisation result in any action are misleading.

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10 months ago

Guest

Laura

I agree completely with you, Safvan.

It was a problem not well handled, and the company did make mistakes. It was a storm they saw themselves in and many other huge brokers took advantage of it and kicked the company once it was already on the floor.

Hopefully little by little this situation will be dealt with in a good manner.

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1 year ago

Guest

IronFX Official Representative

Dear Safvan Malik, As a financial institution, IronFX abides by the applicable international and European regulatory standards. The IronFX Group of Companies comprises of investment firms authorized and regulated by the competent financial authorities in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Cyprus. We note that none of the said group companies has either received a fine or penalty by any competent authority or has any court ruled against any of the group companies. We would be delighted to attend to any query you may have once we are able to identify you as a client of the Company. In this… Read more »

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1 year ago

Guest

Peter

You have to read the statement of the European Ombudsman to the end : “In the event that ESMA does not follow-up appropriately on the matters complained about, it will be open to the Ombudsman to inquire further into these matters on her own initiative”.
So please expect further steps by the EU authorities, possibly leading to the shut down of most Cyprus investment firms http://bit.ly/2lG3ppT

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1 year ago

Guest

IronFX Official Representative

Dear Peter, As a financial institution, IronFX abides by the applicable international and European regulatory standards. The IronFX Group of Companies comprises of investment firms authorized and regulated by the competent financial authorities in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Cyprus. We note that none of the said group companies has either received a fine or penalty by any competent authority or has any court ruled against any of the group companies. We would be delighted to attend to any query you may have once we are able to identify you as a client of the Company. In this respect,… Read more »

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1 year ago

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K. B.

Please read my true story regarding IronFX: I had an account with IronFx, and deposited funds and requested a withdrawal of my funds in 2015. March. My withdrawal request has been pending since 2015. March… I am not the only client in this situation! A large number of clients (worldwide) are unable to withdraw their funds from IronFx. Section 3.21 of the Annual Report 2015 by the Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus confirms that IronFx has an amount of clients’ debt of at least $ 176 million. This is evidence! According to the above mentioned Report, the company… Read more »

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1 year ago

Member

IronFX Official Representative

Dear K.B.,
You are kindly requested to provide us with your particulars (i.e.name and account number) in order to allow us to attend to any queries you may have. You can also write to us at support@ironfx.com for any clarifications you may require.
Thank you